The TWRA commissioners in Nashville voted unanimously to hold the sandhill crane hunt this Fall to coincide with the migratory bird season. I personally view this as a terrible venture as the general non-hunting public as well as a huge portion of hunters are against killing cranes. I don't understand why the relentless push to hunt cranes. It's senseless. Pray the whooping cranes don't fall in this hunt as they are clinging to existence and almost extinct. The Whoopers flock with the sandhills and they are very difficult to distinguish apart. I'm sure the expert, well informed hunters can easily tell the difference. It's a damn shame! A damn shame.
8:40PM OK. I just read another article about the killing of cranes. I'm trying to empathize with both interested factions here but am finding it difficult to do. I am really against this killing of cranes. Read this article. The link is below:
http://www.wbir.com/news/article/285561/2/TWRA-committee-gives-preliminary-approval-for-Sandhill-Crane-hunting-season-
The following statement, among other things, is what cements me on the non hunting side. It is an irresponsible attitude toward the wildlife in question and proves that the hunter is more interested in pulling the trigger than he is about the animal who's head is on the block. It's all about the hunter, and this is all my opinion:
"Twelve hundred birds shot out of a population of 89 to 90 thousand birds. What does it hurt? It gives the hunter another opportunity to hunt. It brings money to the game and fish with the permits. Why not?" questioned Larry Jones, a hunter from Kingston.
The attitude expressed by the above hunter is one that boasts irresponsibility on the part of someone who is interested in only one thing - his own enjoyment.. There's 12,000 birds so what's killing a few going to hurt? It hurts because we are supposed to be caretakers of these wild animals. We didn't bring them back from the edge of extinction for the purpose of shooting them. We brought them back because it's the wise and correct thing to do. We didn't bring them back for the enjoyment of hunters to slaughter them. They are defenseless. They fly slow and they are big and ungainly yet gorgeous to watch in flight. The attitude in that statement is typical of the modern "sportsman." It's the same with trapping. There's a lot of otters so we can trap them. There's a lot of beavers so we can trap them. The license fees don't even come close to the costs of reintroduction of these critters back into the wild element. Otters cost TWRA $450 for each otter released. Trappers can kill them in an unlimited quantity for 28 bucks a year. What the hell kind of stewardship is that? Now its the cranes. How long will it be before gulls and great blue herons make the death list. Sorry, but I'm pissed! The cranes are a success story and yet they must pay for their success with their death. It's nuts! Hunters don't need to kill cranes. Is nothing sacred in the wild places? The bird watchers and anti hunters had three years to prepare for this and they all dropped the ball. They didn't organize, they didn't enlist the cooperation of the professional ornithologists in the state and they did not put their money where their hearts and minds are. They dropped the ball big time and they let the cranes down. Sorry but it's true. What did they think would happen after three years from the first proposal when the crane hunt issue would be tabled again? Well, it was tabled, voted on and it passed. I don't agree at all with it but it's passed. Now, think of what you all could have done, but didn't.
Well Gary we are on the same side in this.I have been a bird hunter all my life both waterfowl and upland,although preferring the upland by a lot.My main concern is the accidental,or by stupidity,killing of the Whoopers.They may need to reduce flock size as there are a lot of Sand Hill. I don't think much of the sporting aspects of crane shooting for the reasons you mentioned.I see the Sierra club weighed in. I don't value their opinion for several reasons and I used to be a member for many years. But that is another story.
ReplyDeleteDick - The thing is this. Hawassi was originally created as a duck wet land. Four acres of grain was planted for them. They built the thing under the crane flyway. The cranes landed and consumed the grain. More grain was planted. 15 acres. The next thing happend the next year and in continuing years until over 80 acres of grain is available. Many cranes simply stopped there and set up housekeeping instead of continuing on their migration routes. Then they overflowed into farmer fields because the grain is continued to be planted. Now, there are so many cranes that the kill word is used to cull them down. Point is that if ya put the feed out the critters will come. So, they were fed all these years and now there are many - enough to have a hunt. The issue used is that they are creating problems for the farmers adjacent to the crane habitat at Hawassi. It's all BS. If they're a problem then stop planting the grain and they'll move on. No food - no stoppie! But, no. It's an excuse to put them on the kill list. One supposed sportsman made the statement "there are thousands of them so why not give hunters something else to hunt?" All the comments I hear from hunters is all about them, the hunters, the shooting experience, the kill or I should be politically correct and say the harvest. There is no comments about the hunters concern or appreciation for the animal. It's all about pulling the trigger on something different for a change. These cranes came back from the brink of extinction and the whoopers flock with them and they are on the brink of extinction. And we're going to turn this fantastic bird over to the shotgun and the very capabable hunter minds that control the trigger fingers on countless triggers. To that I say its an embarrassment to say that sportsmen are good stewards of the wildlife they are entrusted to care for and appreciate. Keep an eye on the blog. I got a hunch on what the next victim to the hunters prowess will be.
ReplyDeleteAs a further bit of information - the pole taken from the public in general and the hunters tallied 880 against the hunting of cranes and only 178 in favor of the hunt. So what happens? The hunt is sanctioned by the TWRA commissioners in Nashville. Whats that tell ya? Sounds like there's only one voice being listened to and that voice belongs to the man with the gun.
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